


Christmas Day

by TundrainAfrica



Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TundrainAfrica/pseuds/TundrainAfrica
Summary: Haru convinces Rin to spend Christmas with him in Disneyland and Rin remembers when she used to go there with her parents.Part two of my present to @hizashi-yamadas for the Animanga Secret Santa 2020
Relationships: Sohma Hatsuharu/Sohma Rin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6
Collections: Animanga Secret Santa 2020 Gift for Hizashi Yamadas





	Christmas Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AraHinam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraHinam/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Elisha! (Part 2)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Rin wasn’t planning anything big for Christmas. In fact, she had never really done anything for Christmas since she had moved out of her parent’s place and into Kagura’s house. Being reminded everyday by the dynamics of Kagura and her mother of the family life she did not achieve, somehow made her ponder her circumstances as a daughter, as a part of a family.

A holiday as big and supposedly as warm as Christmas despite the biting winter was only mocking her. It did not feel warm at all. 

It was like any other cold day in winter and Rin found herself curled up on the blanket at four in the morning when she looked at her phone to see December 25 written on the front and a subheading below which said “Christmas Day.” She had heard that in other countries, Christmas day was an important holiday for families. At least there, it was bearable. Kagura and her mother only made it less bearable because those two liked to spend it together every single damn year. 

She was sure Kagura wouldn’t invite her out like they did the first few years. Like every year, Rin was determined to stay alone in the room. 

That was until she saw that message under the date. 

_Won free tickets to Disneyland. Let’s go tomorrow._

It wasn’t a question. In fact, it seemed like an order more than anything. Rin started to consider then, that maybe for that year, her Christmas plans would change. The name she saw above the message only convinced her more, to maybe get out of bed that day and find some other way to celebrate that dreaded holiday. 

Rin was quick to reply. As she watched the bar fill as the message was sent, she looked back up at the name at the top of the screen and allowed herself a little smile. 

Haru Soma. 

Strangely, for the first time in so many years, she was excited for Christmas. 

* * *

It had been years since Rin had been to Disneyland. _It **should** have been years since then. _

As Rin took in the view of the arc as they entered, the turnstiles and the crowds, it felt like just yesterday. Maybe because the view in Disneyland was timeless. The crowds and the families and the Christmas decorations never changed. 

Suddenly, she saw her parents among the crowds and she could imagine them holding her hand and pulling her through the crowds. She was five years old again. 

Back then she was happy. Back then, Christmas was magical. Back then, she was looking forward to going home that night and waking up to presents from Santa Claus. 

The stark contrast then to what she had at present, the realization that everything had all been a lie, only left a horribly bitter taste in her mouth. 

Every face she saw, every child, every parent was smiling. Every smile was warm. And Rin was wondering again what had gone wrong. She looked to Haru, hoping at least to see a warm smile there. 

His face was blank. Maybe he was spacing out as they were navigating the crowd. She couldn’t help but be a little disappointed though.

“Where to first?” He asked. As they **finally** got past the turnstiles and into the crowd. 

“You invited me.” _I thought you’d be planning it._ Rin had hoped he’d read that part with the look she gave him. He seemed unperturbed though. 

“Okay, let’s see what looks fun.” He grabbed a guide from the nook on the side and looked through it. “This is my first time here. You’ve been here before right?” 

“Maybe.” _A long time ago. In another life._

After some walking, they arrived at a point in the park which looked like what could have been an old Western City. The buildings were streaked with colors of Christmas and it was when Rin looked closer did she see they were Christmas lights on green pines. She let herself look a little at it a longer, and a little more carefully. The pine gave an unnatural glint, if one looked closely enough to see it. 

They were fake. Probably plastic. She’d been living a fake life for more than half her life. She continued to live completely aware that everything else could be fake The home she was enjoying in Kagura’s home could have been fake. Haru taking her out to Disneyland could have been another stage play. 

Everything around her from the Christmas lights and the pine trees and the giant tree that illuminated the darker part of the semi-indoor Christmas town, although breathtaking was definitely fake.

Compared to years ago, Rin was not amazed. In fact, it was frustrating to see something so beautiful yet so blatantly staged. 

“You wanna go on a ride?” Haru suggested. “The tower of terror is pretty popular apparently.” 

They followed the map to the location of the ride. It wasn’t too hard. The tower stuck out amongst all the other buildings and they only had to follow its general direction to get a feel of where it was. They followed a few more paths, keeping an eye on the tower above. 

Eventually, they were near enough to have to look up at it. Rin’s stomach dropped as she bent her head back to see how high the tower really went. She could hear the screams from the inside and the excited chatter from the long line that spilled far out of the entrance. They didn’t help at all. 

In fact they only amplified that tingling sensation on her back. Within seconds, it was as if her scars were burning. Somehow, she was lying again on the ground, looking up at the sky, Akito looking down at her from his spot on the window. 

“Let’s...get out of here.” Rin managed to say.

“Rin, you okay?”

Rin had felt it many times before. Terror would manifest itself as a million fingers grabbing at her, wrapping himself around her and suddenly she’d be unable to breath. She used to fight them. Something inside her though, still had a weak grip on reality and Rin was at least aware enough of the arm wrapping around her, and the benevolent intentions behind it. 

“Let’s get you somewhere quiet.” 

Rin knew if at that moment she gave her body any more power, maybe she would have fought against the gentle arm running around her. Maybe she would have kicked or elbowed him from behind, the way she had wanted to when Akito did the same things. 

It took more than enough effort but she managed to stop herself, channeling the fear and terror inside her and allowing it to manifest itself as time frozen, as the world going black. 

For Rin, time stood still, except for the arms wrapped around her. She let them take her where she needed to go. 

* * *

“That was a stupid thing to suggest.. I’m sorry.” 

To the average person, Haru’s voice would have sounded emotionless with no shred of guilt. Rin only had to look up at his gaze, to see that the guilt was there and the acknowledgement of his mistake. 

“No it wasn’t… We wasted a good five hours of park time cause I just couldn’t get myself together,” Rin commented as she cut up the jelly they had ordered into smaller pieces. It was a simple exercise that was at least helping her clear her mind. 

“The tickets were free. If you’re not up to it, we can leave now and just go somewhere else.”

“What are you suggesting?” Rin took one small bite of jelly.

“Maybe a mall? Or just the park? They have a Christmas Market in Hibiya.” 

“They’re all crowded. It won’t make a difference.” 

“Then maybe we can go back to the main house.” 

Rin shook her head. “We’re already here. You got some free tickets. Might as well enjoy it.” 

That last part was for herself. They were sitting in a relatively peaceful part of the park. The attractions around that area were geared towards children and Rin couldn’t help but note that compared to the area where the Tower of Terror was, the faces around her were a little more laid back. There were a lot more families with children and a few couples among them. 

There was less hustle and competition among them to be first in line. The smiles were at least more relaxed. Many of the children were running freely, their parents following behind them. Even when frazzled, the parents looked happy. And the children, who looked back at their parents gesturing for them to follow, looked carefree. 

_Must be nice._ How long had it been since Rin had smiled like that at her parents? She found herself even questioning her own emotions and her own experiences. And as she thought back to the same face her parents made, and the same way they had chased her through the park more than a decade ago, Rin realized one important thing. 

“I’ve been here before.” 

“I was sure your parents have taken you here before. Back when were kids, they never stopped bragging about your happy family vacations over Soma family dinners.”

Of course Haru would have remembered more than him. The shock at realizing that everything had all been part of an act, that every happy memory as a child had all been a lie had all been part of some large production, made it difficult for Rin to recall them at will. 

_Lies were things that simply didn't exist in reality._ How could she grasp for something that never existed as something beyond an act or a lie?

The memories were still somehow vague but they were enough to rouse a little curiosity within her. 

“Let’s go on a ride?” 

“What are you thinking?” 

Rin only had to point ahead for Haru to understand. The building was hidden behind trees from their angle. The bright colors of the castle stuck out. That was also the only ride within their field of vision.

Rin had to pick at her head to remember what exactly went on inside the ride. The cartoony Eiffel tower and the clock tower in odd and exquisite yet unrealistic shades were all too familiar. As a child, they had reminded her and even hinted to possibly a world beyond her own, complementing the many fairy tales and folk tales she had heard as a child. That part of her memory was at least what made the view in front of her as they closed in on the ride, all the more familiar. 

As they got nearer and Rin let the trauma-hardened cynic within her take over, she started to notice the unnatural glint of cement and cheap paint, as the afternoon sunlight shined on it. Somehow, it had become comforting to know that even in that magical place, there were still some things that were bogus. That no one was exempt from stage plays and productions in life. 

She didn’t know how long they were in line. She had occupied herself though flitting between her child self and her present self. Allowing herself to enjoy the mixture of colors and the fantastical artwork and then taking note of any indication of its artificiality when she found herself becoming envious of the children who haven’t yet lost the wonder in their eyes. 

Haru was silent. At the least they were both comfortably silent. 

When they had gotten nearer to the front of the line, that was when she started to remember further, what had made the artworks stick out a little longer. 

_There is just one moon and one golden sun and a smile means friendship to everyone._

_Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide..._

_It’s a small world after all._ Rin found herself humming the characteristic chorus even preempting the actual music. 

For a while she was smiling. For a while, she was enjoying it. It at least lasted until they secured a seat inside the small boat. The combination of the music and the carefree atmosphere as children rushed to the fronts screaming and laughing, made it all the easier for Rin to pretend that one of them was the Rin from ten years ago. 

The cacophony of music and laugher and the bombardment of bright colors and lights made it difficult for Rin to feel the lump on her throat and the heaviness in her chest as the boat moved through it. 

For a second though, everything was black. It could have been less than a split second, maybe an interval before the scenery changed. It was enough for the lump in her throat to make itself known, and the heaviness in her chest to push a little further. And even as the lights came up again and the scenery changed from fantastical Europe to a rendition of what looked like Arabian nights. Magical Carpets. Asian towers and what could have been a Jungle Book Puppet. 

They were as beautiful as the last area. Rin had to note. The lump and the heaviness had taken over though and before Rin could even stop it, she felt a tear slide down her cheek. 

The careful and intricate combinations of music and dancing puppets had created a beautiful experience for her as a child. Enough for her to recall the details decades later, everything all the way until the arm around her and the soft voice from her mother. 

_Stay nearer to the middle Rin, we don’t want you falling out._

Was it all a lie? Was her mother’s concern then a lie? The music was coming from some speakers. The puppets were just carefully choreographed and carefully programmed to make it look magical to a child. If Rin looked at them one by one though, she could see that the movements were too mechanical and repetitive. 

_Just like her own parents._

Rin had enough control of herself at least to guide herself out of the ride and to navigate among the crowds going out through the exit without bumping into any man. Haru could have been helping her then but at that moment she didn’t care. 

She just wanted to get out. 

“I’m not going back here again,” Rin said. “It’s fucking fake. Everything in this park is fucking fake.” 

Once again, Haru and Rin were on a bench in the middle of the park. Rin was on her second cup of jelly. She appreciated the fact that the jelly and the burst of sweetness that came when it melted on her mouth wasn’t fake at least. 

“Of course they are. They’re all man made attractions. If you wanted something real, we could have gone to a safari.” 

“Then why do people like it so much?” _Why did I enjoy it so much then?_ Once again, she was envious of the children passing by and the child within her for being able to enjoy something so artificial. Rin swirled the jelly in the cup in anger, completely transforming it into something which resembled pudding and water more than jelly. 

“I don’t think people like the rides for the rides or the buildings for the buildings. It’s the atmosphere which makes it something worthwhile. I had fun today. I don’t think I would have had as much fun if I were alone though.” 

Rin felt the blood rush into her face and she found herself mixing the jelly in the cup a little quicker, regretting it a second later as it started to feel more like water than jelly. 

“It’s getting dark.” 

Rin should have noticed the way the bright colors around the park were a little dimmer. She had been too focused on her own memories than what was there in front of her. And as the sky above her gradually shifted from shades of red to purple, Rin had to note that it was an unfamiliar site, particularly the way the colors around her adjusted to the new lighting as the street lights around the park started to light up. 

The sun would set at late afternoon during winter. Her parents had always brought her out of the park as soon as the sun started to make its way below the horizon, even before the sky turned a bright orange. 

It was a new scenery and with no memory to grab on to, Rin found herself looking at Haru next to her. He was quiet. It wasn’t anything too unusual. A feeling of guilt still washed over Rin as she realized she had spent the whole day focusing on herself and on the memories the park had brought her. She had spent her hours in the park, on the memories of her parents when there was someone next to her, who she could have at least enjoyed it with. 

“Hey, before we go home, there’s something I wanna check out.” 

Rin did not protest. She followed silently behind him as they made their way through the park. Her legs were aching already from the long walks and she was a little hungry, having only eaten two cups of jelly the whole day. She was starting to feel ashamed of herself and she knew she owed Haru at least that much. 

By the time Haru had stopped, the sky was already dark, and the source of the illumination and colors around the park came from the streetlights around them. 

They were in an area with bleachers and in front of them was a large body of water that stretched out in both directions. 

“A lights show. I just thought it would look cool.” He waved the flier in front of her. “You’ve been to one before?” 

Rin shook her head. She had been to Disneyland multiple times, but had never stayed late enough to see it at night. 

The streets illuminated by a combination of the street lights and the Christmas lights on the way to the bleachers had been something new to her. As Rin watched as the water shot out of the ground in rhythm to the orchestra music playing in the background and as the colors scattered into different shades of the rainbow from a solid blue, Rin was sure, she had never seen something like that in her life. 

The view of Disneyland at night was something completely new to her. It was new. It was exciting. She didn’t even notice the shallow breath she head let out in amazement as smoke appeared from somewhere mixing into the teal and the blue, a rendition very similar to that of the Northern Lights. 

There was no unnatural glint of plastic to pick out. No individual movement to analyze. In fact, she didn’t even attempt to, for the first time, she was completely entranced by the performance in front of her. 

It was a production, a play, just like the one her parents had made her watch for so many years. Somehow, the colors and the lights looked too authentic. 

As it ended, she found herself just sitting, wishing it hadn’t ended, praying for an encore even as the people in front of her started to file out and a voice from some speakers were reminding people to watch their steps as they made their way out. 

“You don’t wanna leave yet?” It was Haru’s voice that finally made her accept that the performance was done. 

She had a short bout of laughter. It was an involuntary motion, an instinctive reaction to the situation in front of her. It could have possibly been directed at her own inability to process that it was over. As she looked at Haru though, she suddenly felt the need give a hard squeeze the hand that was on top of her for a large part of the spectacle. 

“It was amazing.” Rin had wanted to say more but found herself at a loss for words. In the end everything from her head spinning in excitement, the blood rushing through her face and what could have been tears of joy or excitement creeping up at the corners of her eyes all culminated into one phrase. “Thank you.” 

“It’s my first time seeing you this amazed,” He commented. “So, I guess you felt the magic?” 

_Felt the magic._ It was a joke. An allusion to the introductory lines of the spectacle. 

“Yeah I felt it.” As ridiculous as the word play was, Rin found herself playing along. 

“Places are fun because of the people there,” Haru said. “I know your past memories in Disneyland are complete horseshit now. But it doesn’t have to be horseshit every single time.”

Rin felt a slight tingle of what could have been a mixture of excitement or assurance that spidered through her whole body. She traced the origins back to her hand he had squeezed in return. 

“I’m not your parents Rin,” Haru continued. “Unlike them, I’m not putting up any lies in front of you. I had a lot of fun today.”

Rin had been betrayed enough to know what lies look like, how to pick out an overly rehearsed smile, the mechanics of rehearsed movements and glint. It only followed that she could pick out an absence of it. 

Haru’s eyes were looking right at her, the smile a little too small, a little too hesitant to have been something he had rehearsed for a long time before that day. 

In fact, he rarely thought his movements and his actions through. Maybe that’s why she had always trusted him. He never rehearsed, he never contemplated the next course of action. His decisions, his actions and words were usually too impulsive and too natural given circumstances to have been rehearsed.

His next few words would probably have been considered awkward to any other woman. Maybe a little too immature. Rin found herself opening up a little more, allowing herself to smile a little a little wider and to lean closer and onto his shoulder. 

Her parents were the last thing on her mind. The young Rin and the magic of her experience in that park were a distant memory, all upstaged by the echoes of Haru’s words as they watched the dark stage in front of them in silence. 

_Let’s make new memories together._

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is very much appreciated!


End file.
